Submarine lifeboat



Jan. I0, 1928.

A. M; BOGDANOVICH SUBMARINE LIFEBOAT gmenloc Filed July 22, 1926 Jan. 10, 1928. 1,655,645

A M. BOGDANOVICH SUBMARINE LIFEBOAT IN VE N TOR Ana/raw /7. Baydanawch 1 A TTORN E Y Jan. 10, 1928.

SUBMARINE LIFEBOAT Filed July 22; 1926 Fig. 4

A. M. BOGDANOVICH v 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented J an. 10, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrics.

ANDREW BOGDANOVICH; OF PORTLAND, QBEGON.

Application filed July 22, 1926. Serial No. 124,167.

vision of apparatus to be mounted in and upon a submarine vessel by means of which the savmg of life may be effected from all parts of the ship and the crew may be removed from a sunken vessel'safely and without flooding or otherwise.damaging the submerged ship. V

A further object ofmy invention is the provision of alifeboat for submarine vessel including novel devices for detachably con necting the same to the deck of the ship.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a horizontally disposed tube extending longitudinally of a submarine vessel and into each of the bull:- headed compartments into which thevcssel is dividedwithprovision for entrance into the tube from each compartment whereby escape is afforded froma damaged compartment to a safer portion of the ship.

A still further objectof the invention is the provision of means in a submarine vessel having a detachably mounted lifeboat on its deck and a life-saving tube extending longitudinally within the vessel, of means of escape from said tube into the lifeboat, to gether withclosure devices for sealing the opening into said tube through the deck from either within the tube or exteriorly of the vessel.

Other objects and advantages of my invcntion, and objects relating to details of construction and arrangementof parts will be readily apparent inthe course of the detailed description to follow.

The accompanying drawings illustrate, by way of example, an embodiment of my invention in which:

Figure 1 is a view of a submarine vessel partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal section.

Fig. 2 is a plan-view in horizontal section of a lifeboat built inacc'ordance with my invention.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in vertical section of the top deck of a submarine vessel and a lifeboat mounted thereon.

Fig. 4: is a top plan View partly broken away of the entrance port and closures therefor into the lifeboat from the submarine vessel.

Fig. 5 is a similar underside plan view of the same. i i

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional linec6 6 of Fig.4. j V

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view in cross-see tion of the means for securing a lifeboat to thedeck of a vessel.

View taken on Referring to said views, the reference numoral 1 indicates generally a submarine vessel in which compartments A, B, and C. are contained, which are usually inhabited by the crew and which contain their living and working quarters. Said compartments are divided by waterti 'ht bulkheads indicated by the numerals 2 and 3. Rigidly mounted in said bulkheads or to the top of the vessel .is a cylindrical tube G eXtending longitudinally of the vessel and into each of said compartments and having an opening 7 from each said compartment into the tube which may be closed by a watertight hinged door 8.

Said tube and said openings are of diameters to admit of the entrance and passage therethrough of men of normal size by crawling in a prone position. 7 Said tube is connected by egress connection 10 with, an opening ll through the upper deck 5 of the vessel. j I

'Mounted upon said deck or slightly do pressed therein is a. lifeboat 12 of waters tight construction througl'iout of sufiicient capacity to ,carry in a safe manner the en tire crew of a submarine vessel towhich it is attached. Apertured lugs '13 are rigidly fastened. to the deck 5 of the vessel upon each side of the lifeboat adjacent the bow and stern thereof, respectively.

Latch bolts 15 extend through the sides of the boat and are movable outwardly into engagement with the apertures ofthe respective said lugs. Said latches extend inwardly of the boat in rods 16 which are slidably extended through packing glands 17.,to prevent the leakage of water thereby. The inner end of said rods are screw threaded and extend into a tubular barrel 18 the cen- .tral bore of which is screw threaded with right and left threads atits opposite ends to cause the rods 16 of each pair of latch bolts at the opposite ends of the boat to, be drawn into or project outwardly of the bore as said barrels are rotated.

Integral with each of the barrels 18 is a beveled gear with which a beveled pinion 21 is in mesh. Said pinions are keyed at opposite ends of a shaft 22 which, upon being rotatably actuated as by means of a ratchet lever, will rotate the barrels 18 to cause the bolts 15 to be extended into engagement with the lugs 13 to secure the boat upon the deck or receded therefrom simultaneously to disconnect the boat from the deck at all points in connection at the same time.

The bottom 25 of the lifeboat is further secured to the deck 5 of the vessel by a plurality of bolts 26 fixedly secured in the deck 5 and extending through apertures of the lifeboat bottom 25 upon which bear nuts 26 pressing the bottomof the lifeboat to the deck and upon an annular gasket 27; I

About said opening 11 an annular flange 28 extends vertically, about which a similar flange 30 extending upwardly from the bottom 25 of the boat is fitted when the boat is connected with the vessel. Vithin said flange 30 a porthole 31 is formed in the bottom of the lifeboat registering with the opening 11 in the vessel deck. 32 indicates a porthole cover for said port 31 which is hinged at 33 within the boat bottom and is arranged to fit closely over the flange 80 and be fixedly secured in such position by means of swingbolts connected to the boat bottom and engageable within slotted ears 36 of the port cover by means of nuts Ordinarily such port cover is swung back to leave an open port entrance, as indicated in Fig. 3. A circular door 38 is hingedly connected at 40 to the underside of the vessel deck 5 within the egress connection 10 and is arranged to be swung upwardly over the opening 11 and seal such opening from the inside by means of screw bolts 41. The door 38 may be closed from the outside by means of a cross-arm 4:2 diametrically extending across the opening 11 and resting upon its opposite ends upon ledges i3 at the side of the opening.

Centrally of the cross-arn'i a screw bolt -15 extends therethrough and into a screw threaded boss 46' centrally of the door 38, whereby the cross-arm may be retained. with the door and when the latter is closed the extreniities of the cross-arm will pass through slots 47 in the ledge 43 and may then be swung to either side to overlie said ledge and thus obtain a bearing to exert pressure in closing the door.

The operation of my invention may be described as follows:

The manner of securing the lifeboat to the deck of the vessel has been described. In the event of damage to a submarine vessel or its failure to rise to the surface through accident, the tube 6 is resorted to by the crew of the vessel in escaping from any compartment to the egress connection 10. The closure 8 of each opening 7 being closed after the entrance of the last man from such compartment, the men crawl through the tube to reach the egress 10 and then upwardly through the opening 11 into the lifeboat. Upon the last man entering the lifeboat the door 38 is swung upwardly to close the opening 11 and the cross-arm adjusted upon the ledge 43, whereupon the screw bolt a5 is tensioncd to seal the door over the opening 11. In this manner the door 38 may be closed from within the lifeboat to prevent the entrance of water in the sulgimarine upon the lifeboat being detached therefrom and where there are no survivors in the submarine vessel. In the event that there are men remaining in the vessel the door may be closed from the inside by means of screws all about the pe riphery of the door.

The crew having been safely disposed in the lifeboat and the door 88 into the submarine vessel cl end in the manner described, the porthole cover 32 rlosed and secured by the swing bolts 35 and nuts 37. Thereupon the nuts 26 are removed, freeing the boat from the submarine excepting for the bolts 15. iVhen all is ready for detaelnnent of the lifeboats, the shaft22 is rotated in the proper direction by the ratchet devices 23, which will cause all of the boat 15 to be retracted simultaneously from the lug-s13, whereupon the boat is freed from the deck of the submarine, and its buoyancy will cause it to rise to the surface.

Upon reaching the surface the hatch covers l8 may be removed, if the weather permits, to provide air to the interior of the lifeboat, whereupon a gasengine 50 may be utilized to propel the lifeboat. In the event that stormy weather prevents the opening of the hatches to provide suflicient oxygen forthe effective use of a gas engine, an electric motor 51 may be provided obtaining energy from storage batteries, not shown.

The present invention simple and practical in construction and effective in its adaptation'to the functions of a submarine vessel, both in times of peace and war. The lifeboat may be positioned directly aft of a coning tower of the submarine, so that but little additional resistance is encountered by its mounting upon the deck. The lifeboat is not liable to damage by a serious injury through torpedoing of the submarine and may be readily utilised, in saving the lives of the entire crew of the submarine in the event of serious accident to the latter.

From the foregoingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings the advantages of the construction and application of my improved submarine lifeboats will be readily apparent, but, while I have described the principle of operation of the invention together with the devices which I nowconsider the best embodiment thereof, it will be understood that the structures ltiil of an escape-tube extending longitudinally thereof and having means of entrance in each of the eompartn'ients of the vessel, of alil'eboat detachably connected to the upper deck oi said vessel, and communicative connections between said tube and said lifeboat.

2. In a submarine vessel, divided into a plurality of compartments, an escape tube extendin longitudinally of the vessel, and having an opening into each of said coinpartn'ients, said tube being provided'with an egress connection communicating with an opening in the deck.

3. In a submarine vessel, a plurality of compartments, an escape tube extending longitudinally of the vessel having a plurality of openings connnunicating respectively with said compartments to which closable doors are attached, said tube having an egress connection through the top deck of the vessel, and a lifeboat detachably connected to the deck of the vessel having a port comn'iunicating with said egress connection.

4. In a submarine vessel, a plurality of compartments, an escape tube extending longitudinally of the vessel having a plurality of openings respectively communicating with said compartments, closable doors attached to each said opening, said tube having an egress connection through thetop deck of the vessel, a lifeboat detachably eonneeted to the deck of the vessel having a port communicating with said egress connection, and a door closure for each said port and egress connection.

5. In a submarine vessel, a plurality of compartments, an escape tube extending longitudinally of the vessel having an opening into each said compartment, closable door for every opening, said tube having an egress connection through the top deck of the vessel, a lifeboat detachably connected to the deck of the vessel having a port communicating with said egress connection, a door closure for each said port and egress connection, and means to make a Watertight connection between the lifeboat and the vessel about said port.

ANDREW M. BOGDANOVICH. 

